The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, on Friday urged Muslim women to join the fight against corruption by rejecting stolen funds from their spouses, who are public officers.
The Sultan also challenged wives of state governors and emirs to lead the campaign for girl-child education.
Abubakar stated this at the formal opening of the 30th annual national conference of the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN) in Ilorin, tagged “Motherhood and Leadership.”
He noted that the myriads of problems confronting the country “start from our homes.”
Sultan Abubakar said if Nigeria is to see the change its citizens have been yearning for, women must start the crusade against corruption right from home.
He added that Nigerians must be ready to be the change they voted for during the last presidential election.
“Women must discuss corruption and ask questions from their husbands about their ill-gotten wealth especially from those who are public office holders.
“If you notice that your husbands, few months after becoming public officers, started buying exotic cars, build houses all over the place, ask questions on the source of that sudden wealth.
“As women,you must add your voice to issues affecting our country, formulate policies where anyone seeking public office must listen to you even if they don’t like it,” he stated.
The sultan stressed the need for women to ensure that they raise responsible children for the overall wellbeing of the society.
“If we don’t have a good society where children are raised by fear of God,I will say we don’t have a society “
The Kwara state governor, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed while declaring the conference open,lamented that Nigeria has not taking advantage of her diversity in attaining nationhood.
He said the religious and ethnic diversity which Allah had endowed the country with should be leverage upon to move the country forward.
In his key note address, Dr. AbdulRauf Wale Babalakin acknowledged the positive role mothers could play in moulding their children.
He said “it is unfair to be born or brought up by poorly behaved parents. It is a violation of the child’s rights for him to be brought up by persons who do not consciously try to do the right thing”.
In his welcome address,chairman of the occasion ,Justice Mustapha Akanbi called on all Muslims be united in condemning terrorism by those hiding under the guise of Islam to perpetrate evil.
Quoting some portions of the Holy Quran to drive home his point,Akanbi said inviting people to Islam must not be done by threats or violence but by showing the beauty of Islam to non adherents.
Represented by Dr Mudashir Abdulsalam,Akanbi said “all religious groups should try to understand other religions apart from theirs and work towards religious harmony as Nigeria is a multi religious country”.
He admonished muslims to “eschew hatred, greed, nepotism”while political office holders must desist from fanning ember of hatred of amongst different religious adherents”.
